


Bittersweet

by twitchtipthegnawer



Series: Meteorites [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dark Chocolate is the Superior Chocolate, F/F, Fluff, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 13:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6053518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitchtipthegnawer/pseuds/twitchtipthegnawer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl sees Valentine's day for the first time, and if she wants to buy a little something afterwards, well, who can blame her? The chocolates <i>are</i> on sale, after all, and Rose Quartz probably hasn't had this flavor before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bittersweet

Pearl clutched the heart shaped box to her chest, nervousness fluttering in her stomach, no matter how much she reminded herself that Rose would like the gift. After all, chances were that Rose didn’t even know of the human tradition, and wouldn’t realize what it meant. So, really, Pearl was pretty certain that there was nothing to be nervous about. That didn’t stop the butterflies batting their wings against her insides, though.

Rounding the corner of the cliff brought the beach into view, and with it Rose, her long dress dragging faint lines into the fine sand. It was black here, which was different from what Pearl was used to seeing on Earth, and she found herself missing the white sand beaches they’d seen before. It was dangerous for them to stay in one spot for too long though, so of course they couldn’t return any time soon. Pearl walked up behind Rose quietly, feet so light on the sand that she didn’t make a sound that could be heard above the gentle lapping of the waves.

“Um,” Pearl said, immediately regretting her lack of eloquence. She’d been practicing talking to Rose in a more “equal” way, because that was what Rose wanted, but she clearly didn’t have the hang of it yet, and her speech was still full of those insufferable pauses and fillers. Rose turned to look at her, her eyebrows raising at the sight of the box in her hands.

“What’s this?” Rose asked, bending down to look at it more closely. Pearl swallowed hard, eyes sliding off t the side to rest on the dark sand. As beautiful as Rose’s dress was, it tended to flatter her figure in ways that did not help Pearl be articulate.

“I recently discovered that the humans, uh, exchange sweets,” Pearl said, holding the box out at arms length. “To show affection and camaraderie. I thought that it might be appropriate for me to do the same for you, provided that you see no fault in it, of course, and also taking into account that you might not find the sweets to your taste, which is perfectly acceptable to me, so don’t worry about that-” Pearl cut off her own babbling, biting her lip and watching Rose’s eyes sparkle with interest.

Rose took the box from Pearl’s hands, leaving them hanging in the air for a moment before Pearl recovered from the brief brush of contact and dropped them to her sides again. “Sweets?” Turning the box over in her hands, Rose pulled at the ribbon that had secured the two halves together, allowing the lid to come off and reveal chocolates artfully displayed within the heart. Pulling one from where it was nestled in red tissue paper, Rose popped it in her mouth, chewing once before her eyes sparkled again, delight taking over her features. “These are marvelous! You have to try one Pearl!”

Stumbling backwards a step, Pearl shook her head, a blush brightening her cheeks. “M-me? No, I couldn’t, that is, they’re a gift to you and it would be improper of me to-”

This time it was Rose who cut her off, though it was with a gentle chuckle. “Pearl, we’re equals now, remember? Come and share it with me, here,” Rose said as she took another chocolate, this time holding it out for Pearl to recieve. Trembling, but not wanting to reject Rose and risk hurting her feelings (of course, that was the _only_ reason she was taking the chocolate), Pearl plucked the chocolate from Rose’s fingers with her own, bringing it to her mouth. She’d had chocolate before, but this was darker than that had been, and the burst of bittersweet made her eyes widen. “Good, right?” Rose said, smiling like the moon, full and bright.

“Y-yes,” Pearl said, smiling back tentatively. The two of them ended up sitting together on the beach, so close that they could almost touch shoulders if they’d leaned together. Pearl ate only the one chocolate, being reluctant to have more and force her digestive system to do its disgusting job, but Rose seemed to greatly enjoy her company all the same. It was... nice, Pearl admitted, at least to herself. Not quite as nice as the chocolate-flavored kiss she received at the end of the night, though.

**Author's Note:**

> For tumblr user sapphicscaly!!!! I know this is late for valentine's day, but it's hopefully cute enough to make up for that.


End file.
